Second Nature

1. Second Nature Improving Transportation Without Putting Nature Second Presenter, Affiliation Event or Conference Date Second Nature

2. Introduction Impacts Solutions Conservation Planning Conservation Banking Interagency Coordination Solutions Cont’d Wildlife Crossings Public Lands Native Vegetation Conclusion Recommendations Presentation Outline Second Nature

3. Introduction • Transportation projects often have major impacts on the environment • The federal environmental review process, NEPA, has been unfairly blamed for causing project delays, and is the focus of several efforts to “streamline” the environmental review process • Several states have implemented programs or processes by which they can both protect the environment and improve project delivery Second Nature

4. The Many Threats of Transportation • Roadkill • Habitat Loss • Air and Soil Pollution • Water Pollution • Noise Pollution • Invasive Species • Sprawl Photo by Patricia White, Defenders of Wildlife Second Nature

5. Roadkill • 1 million vertebrates killed every day • For some species, roadkill rate exceeds death rate from natural causes • Some species are particularly threatened by collisions with cars • Florida panther • Florida black bear • Key deer • Grizzly bear Photo by Chuck Bartlebaugh Second Nature

6. Habitat Loss • The most significant threat to endangered species, imperiling 85% of those species • Direct habitat loss • Fragmentation • Habitat degradation • Road effect zone impacts 15 to 20 percent of the land area of the U.S. Andy Singer Second Nature

7. Air and Soil Pollution • Motor vehicles are a primary source • of pollutants • One study of important roadside pollutants found that 83% came from cars and trucks • Air pollutants • Acid rain • Toxics • Heavy metals • Road salts Second Nature

8. Water Pollution • Roads and highways are impervious surfaces • A one-acre parking lot produces about 16 times as much runoff as a one-acre meadow • When more than 10% of a watershed is covered by impervious surfaces, waterways become biologically degraded • Erosion • Nutrient loading • Heavy metals and other pollutants Second Nature

9. Noise Pollution • Noise from cars and trucks is a primary reason for road avoidance • Causes stress in animals • Increased heart rates • Increased production of stress hormones • Abnormal reproductive behavior • Noise levels as low as that in a library have been found to have an impact Second Nature

10. Invasive Species • Impact nearly half of endangered species • Cost the U.S. about $137 billion annually • Roads help spread invasives • Direct planting of invasives • Road maintenance • Acting as corridors • Degraded habitat more more favorable to invasives Norman E. Rees, USDA ARS (www.invasives.org) Second Nature

11. Roads and highways facilitate development Highway-oriented development tends to be auto-oriented and low density Sprawling development encourages more driving Sprawling development leads to more road-building Sprawl Adapted from the Greenbelt Alliance, Reviving the Sustainable Metropolis: Guiding Bay Area Conservation and Development into the 21st Century (San Francisco: Greenbelt Alliance, 1989), p.9 Second Nature

12. Solutions • Some states have attempted to lessen the environmental impacts of transportation projects through: • Integrated Planning • Conservation Banking • Interagency Coordination • Wildlife Crossings • Alternative Transportation on Public Lands • Use of Native Vegetation Second Nature

13. Integrated Planning • An approach that coordinates habitat conservation, land use, and transportation • Occurs in advance of project development • Uses GIS mapping to identify potential conflicts Second Nature

14. Proposed transportation projects are screened by regional Environmental Technical Advisory Teams based on criteria including social and environmental impacts Overlays maps of short- and long-range transportation plans on maps showing state habitat plan Efficient Transportation Decision Making (ETDM) Process Florida’s Planning Process Second Nature

15. Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan • SDCP was developed in response to the listing of a pygmy owl species • Identified six habitat types • Especially ecologically or culturally sensitive areas are designated as Environmentally Sensitive Lands (ESL) • Transportation projects proposed for ESL areas must minimize disturbances to natural and cultural resources Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection Second Nature

16. Key Deer Habitat Conservation Plan • Established because of high roadkill rate of endangered Key deer • Takes into account the impact of potential development on the Key deer • Covers residential, commercial, and transportation infrastructure development • Will ultimately provide basis of a Master Plan for future development USFWS/National Key Deer Refuge Second Nature

17. Recommendations for Integrated Planning • Utilize existing landscape-level conservations plans • States should adopt a Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plan • Identify mitigation sites or banks in advance of project impacts • Provide adequate training on the incorporation of conservation planning • Monitor planning initiatives • Involve the public Second Nature

18. Opportunities for Integrated Planning in Reauthorization • Add a planning objective for wildlife conservation • Provide support to states to acquire and utilize biodiversity plans • Reward states that incorporate conservation plans to promote ecological stewardship • Provide funding for scenario-planning technology Second Nature

19. Conservation Banking • Large, contiguous areas of viable habitat are purchased and protected in anticipation of future demands for transportation project mitigation • Where a project has impacts that cannot be avoided, the sponsoring agency can apply mitigation credits earned under the conservation bank • Conservation banking is proactive rather than piecemeal Second Nature

20. Established in anticipation of impacts from the 20-year state transportation plan Colorado DOT and FHWA will develop land-management plans to meet mitigation requirements TNC and other organizations will act as hosts, managing and overseeing the protected habitat Developed by Colorado DOT, FHWA, USFWS, Colorado Division of Wildlife, and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Colorado’s Shortgrass Prairie Initiative Ron Singer, USFWS Second Nature

21. North Carolina’s Palmetto Pear Tree Preserve • Established by the North Carolina DOT, USFWS, and The Conservation Fund (TCF) to protect habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker • 9,732 acres of habitat purchased by NCDOT from Pru Timber • TCF will manage the site • NCDOT can use credits from the conservation bank only when a transportation project has unavoidable impacts • The credit ratio will range from 1:1 to 3:1, to be decided on a case-by-case basis Corbis Second Nature

22. Recommendations for Conservation Banking • Use conservation banking only when avoiding and minimizing impacts is impossible • Create a revolving fund to help states acquire habitat • Use conservation plans to identify the most ecologically valuable lands for banking • Site conservation banks strategically • Develop a statewide MOU among all involved parties Second Nature

23. Opportunities for Conservation Banking in Reauthorization • Create a federal revolving fund to help states acquire important habitat • Encourage states to use conservation plans to identify banking opportunities • Establish a small business loan program to encourage entrepreneurs in conservation banking • Amend the banking preference to allow maximum flexibility for the most effective mitigation Second Nature

24. Interagency Coordination • Established in response to “environmental streamlining” provisions of TEA-21 • Encourages collaboration between transportation agencies and natural and cultural resource agencies • Formal or informal working groups • Has the potential to reduce project delay and better protect the environment Second Nature

25. Oregon’s CETAS Program • Collaborative Environmental and Transportation Agreement for Streamlining • Established a working relationship between ten state and federal agencies • Involves resource agencies early and continuously in the planning stage of major projects • Oregon DOT seeks concurrence from the agencies in the project’s purpose and need, range of alternatives to be studied, criteria for selecting a preferred alternative, and selection of the preferred alternative • Oregon DOT also funds several positions at resource agencies Second Nature

26. California’s Tri-Agency Partnership • Established a partnership between the California Environmental Protection Agency, the Resources Agency, and the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency • Encourages member agencies to work together early and continuously • Works to ensure the timely delivery of transportation projects that protect or restore the state’s environment • Has helped instill a greater awareness of opportunities to incorporate environmental enhancements in transportation projects Second Nature

27. Recommendations for Interagency Coordination • Fund FTEs at resource agencies • Establish Environmental Review Committees composed of high-level representatives from relevant state and federal agencies • Environmental Review Committee should meet regularly to discuss upcoming projects Second Nature

28. Opportunities for Interagency Coordination in Reauthorization • Retain Section 1309 • Provide financial incentives for states to adopt coordination agreements • Reward states that show progress in project delivery by working in coordination with agencies and the public • Allow resource agencies to apply directly to DOT for eligible reimbursement funding Second Nature

29. Wildlife Crossings • Roads fragment habitat, contributing to the loss of genetic integrity, and causing roadkill • Wildlife crossings are intended to connect habitat that has been fragmented by a road or highway • Wildlife crossings originated in Europe and include both overpasses and underpasses Second Nature

30. In the reconstruction of Alligator Alley (re-designated as I-75), Florida DOT installed 24 underpasses Roadkill and radio telemetry data were assessed to determine the best locations for the underpasses Fences were installed along the highway to help direct animals to the underpasses Collisions with cars and trucks threatens to push the endangered Florida panther to extinction Florida’s Wildlife Crossings USFWS Second Nature

31. More recently, Montana DOT and its contractors made a concerted effort to involve the public in the reconstruction design The new effort called for the reconstruction to incorporate a “spirit of place” That “spirit of place” or context sensitive design will include at least 42 wildlife crossings, ranging from fish culverts to open-span overpasses The reconstruction of US 93 had been very contentious, prompting strong public outcry and keeping the project in limbo for many years Montana’s U.S. 93 Patricia White, Defenders of Wildlife Second Nature

32. Recommendations for Wildlife Crossings • Conduct habitat connectivity studies to determine the best locations for crossings • Retrofit existing roadways to include crossings • Ensure the success of crossings by acquiring habitat on either side of the roadway • Monitor the crossings • Use signs to alert motorists of wildlife • Reduce speed limits in wildlife areas Second Nature

33. Opportunities for Wildlife Crossings in Reauthorization • Maintain funding for the Transportation Enhancements program at present levels or higher • Provide research funding for habitat connectivity studies • Enable states to use federal funds to construct crossings even when no other roadway work is being done • Create a safety grant program to encourage states to build crossings to reduce collisions between motorists and animals Second Nature

34. Public Lands • Federal lands provide habitat for about two-thirds of threatened or endangered species • Public land managers must provide access to the public while protecting biodiversity • A car-oriented strategy to providing public access has led National Parks and Refuges to become choked with polluting, noisy traffic • Some National Parks and Refuges are now turning to public transit to provide access Second Nature

35. Traffic congestion, lack of parking, air pollution, and noise was frustrating visitors and park managers In response, the park began offering free shuttle buses during peak months, at the same time prohibiting private vehicles The shuttles, including 2 electric buses, are popular with visitors Zion National Park had been overwhelmed by cars, RVs, and tour buses Utah’s Zion National Park Shuttle Bus National Park Service Second Nature

36. The Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge interpretative tram has been operating for more than 15 years Cooperative effort between the Valley Nature Center and the National Wildlife Refuge Private vehicles are prohibited from the Refuge when the tram is in operation Annual ridership exceeds 6,000 passengers Texas’s Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge Tram Mike Quinn Second Nature

37. Recommendations for Public Lands • Maintain roads on public lands in an environmentally-sensitive manner, and use only native species in ROWs • Practice context-sensitive solutions • Weigh the need for additional roads against environmental impacts • Increase public awareness of wildlife needs • Provide alternatives to driving Second Nature

38. Opportunities for Public Lands in Reauthorization • Reauthorize and fully fund the National Scenic Byways, Emergency Relief for Federally-Owned Roads, Recreational Trails, and Transportation Enhancements programs • Increase funding for Fix-it-First programs on public lands • Provide dedicated funding for alternative transportation Second Nature

39. Native Vegetation • Invasive species threaten biodiversity and cause $137 billion in economic losses annually • 1999 Executive Order seeks “to prevent the introduction of invasive species and provide for their control” • US DOT Policy Statement directed state DOTs to actively implement the Executive Order • FHWA issued guidelines to help states meet these directives Second Nature

40. Roadside ROW provides 600,000 acres of prairie habitat in Iowa The program establishes a trust fund to provide funds for the development and implementation of Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management plans Requires 50 percent of trees and shrubs, and all grasses and forbs to be native species Established through a partnership between the Iowa DOT and the Roadside Management Program at the University of Northern Iowa Iowa’s Living Roadway Program Iowa Living Roadway Program Second Nature

41. Recommendations for Native Vegetation • Develop and adopt Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management plans • Coordinate and compile vegetation inventories • Establish statewide invasives clearinghouses • Provide training • Develop education programs for the public • Sponsor pilot projects • Conduct research and monitoring of project sites • Reward managers and communities for exemplary efforts Second Nature

42. Opportunities for Native Vegetation in Reauthorization • Provide funding for statewide inventories of vegetation in ROWs • Require discontinuation of non-native species in vegetation management • Provide incentives for native species restoration • Institute a small business loan program for growers to establish native seeds and stock • Provide funding to educate and train practitioners on native vegetation Second Nature

43. Conclusion • Conflicts between transportation and biodiversity have never been greater • Current efforts to weaken NEPA will do little to improve project delivery and could seriously jeopardize the natural and cultural resources • Instead, many states and agencies are beginning to recognize that there are ways to both meet transportation needs and do a better job of protecting environmental and cultural resources Second Nature

44. Conclusion Cont’d • The states and agencies profiled in this report have met these dual goals through innovative practices such as: • Comprehensively planning for biodiversity conservation • Proactively mitigating environmental impacts through conservation banking and wildlife crossings • Improving coordination among transportation and resource agencies • Promoting alternative transportation on public lands • Promoting the use of native vegetation Second Nature

45. Integrate conservation planning into transportation planning Use conservation banking in concert with large scale conservation plans to mitigate for unavoidable impacts Coordinate with resource agencies early, substantively, and continuously throughout the planning process and project development Build wildlife crossings where necessary to repair ecological damage and restore connectivity Provide alternative transportation and maintain roads on public lands in a manner consistent with surrounding natural resources Use only native species in roadside vegetation management Recommendations Second Nature

46. For More Information… Habitat and Highways Campaign www.defenders.org/habitat/highways www.transact.org Second Nature